Angel Duan
Associate
DFJ Growth
DFJ Growth associate with prior technology investment banking experience at PJT Partners.
Bio
Professional summary
Barry Schuler is Founder and Managing Partner at DFJ Growth. His official DFJ Growth profile says he works with companies that have moved beyond seed and early funding and are more mature, especially category leaders or companies positioned to become them. The profile describes a growth-stage pattern that includes companies with at least $10 million in run rate or large monetizable audiences, citing Tumblr and Twitter as examples of DFJ Growth investments. Schuler is credited on the profile as a pioneer of the modern internet and former Chairman and CEO of America Online. He studied psychology at Rutgers University and serves or has served on boards including Formlabs, Foursquare, Glowforge, Helix, and Unity. The profile also notes interest in visual computing, AR/VR, IoT, big data, life sciences, robotics, genomics, and other emerging technology waves.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
growthpost-seedpost-early-stagecategory leader
Sector
consumer internetAR/VRvisual computingIoTbig datalife sciencesroboticsgenomicscreator toolscrypto
Thesis
Growth-stage companies beyond seed and early fundingCategory leaders or companies positioned to become category leadersCompanies with at least $10 million run rate or large monetizable audiencesVisual computing, AR/VR, IoT, big data, life sciences, robotics, and genomics
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
FormlabsFoursquareGlowforgeHelixUnityNotCoPatreonCoinbaseGiphyGoodTumblrTwitter
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Only approach if the company has growth-stage proof: meaningful revenue, monetizable audience scale, category leadership potential, and a strong CEO vision.
Personalization hooks
- 1Anchor outreach around growth metrics such as run rate, audience monetization, or category leadership.
- 2Reference his operator background at AOL when discussing scaling consumer internet or platform businesses.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Official profile lists current companies including Formlabs, Foursquare, Glowforge, Helix, NotCo, and Patreon.
Official profile describes interest in the next technology wave including visual computing, AR/VR, IoT, big data, life sciences, robotics, and genomics.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- DFJ GrowthFounder & Managing PartnerMay 2006 - Present
- Meteor VineyardProprietor/Founder2001 - Present
- AOL Time WarnerChairman/CEO2000 - 2002
- America Online (AOL)Various roles, ultimately Chairman/CEO1995 - 2002
Education
- Rutgers UniversityBA, Psychology1972-1976
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